


The morning after

by AllDemApples



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But Poe makes him happy, Drinking, First Dates, First Time, Kitten BB-8, M/M, Morning After, Professor Poe, Rey on Roller Blades, Secret Relationship, Sleepy Cuddles, So everything's okay, Student Finn, Teacher-Student Relationship, Unhappy Finn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-05-29
Packaged: 2018-06-02 16:15:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6573202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllDemApples/pseuds/AllDemApples
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Finn wakes up to a handsome stranger in his bed, he's smitten at first glance. But will things begin to change when he realizes that Poe is his new teacher?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Partying was never much Finn’s kind of thing. Sure he had been to small parties before, but never on the scale of last night. Last night was a blur, all he could remember was horrifically loud thumping music and the cheapest alcohol imaginable being thrust into his hands in red plastic cups. University was kicking off in a few days, and Finn wanted to get into the spirit of ‘Uni-lifestyle’ so when he was dragged to a nightclub with a surprisingly sticky floor, he decided to let himself have fun for once. What was the harm?  
Finn groaned as he woke up, clutching his head and squeezing his eye shut in an attempt to shut out the light that filtered through the half closed curtains.  
Just as he was piecing together what happened last night there was the dawning realization that he wasn't in his own bed. Finn heard a groan from the other side of his bed, and the sheets began to shuffle. So that’s what I did last night.  
The man beside him seemed to still be asleep, Finn took this opportunity to look at him in more detail, he looked a fair bit older than himself but not in a bad way, not at all. The mystery man’s tanned forearms gripped the sides of the sheets, pulling it up to cover his chest, the curls that scattered on the pillow formed a halo, making him look angelic in the mid-afternoon light. Finn gave himself a mental clap on the back for bringing back someone so attractive. It wasn’t like him to sleep with strangers, but one drink lead to another, and another and soon he and mystery man were making out sloppily behind the Taco Bell next to the nightclub.  
Finn suddenly became conscious of how naked he was. He hurriedly pulled on last night's boxers and a crumpled shirt before hopping out of bed. This caused the man next to him to stir, Finn panicked and froze.

  
The man brushed stray hairs out of his face with one swoop of his hand, and looked up at Finn, who was gaping like a fish.  
“Morning.” He muttered gruffly, apparently the alcohol had gotten to him too. Finn awkwardly shuffled on his feet.The man looked at him with deep brown eyes, staring softly at Finn, as if to figure him out.

“I’m guessing you don’t do this often?” Finn shook his head, his face clearly heating up from the embarrassment, feeling mortified. Finn raked his mind for what the man was called, but for the life of him couldn’t remember. The man must have sensed Finn’s thought process and spoke up.

  
“Poe. Poe Dameron.” Poe smiled at Finn, putting him at ease slightly, Finn sat at the end of the bed.

  
“Finley Brunswick.” Finn mumbled, refusing to meet Poe's gaze. The older man smirked.

  
“That’s not what you said last night. Y’ told me your name was Finn.” Finn chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully.

  
“I like being called Finn, most people call me Finley though, I don’t mind either way.” Poe crawled over to sit by Finn’s side, sheets still hung around his waist.

  
“You wanna be called Finn, that’s what I’m gonna call ya.” Finn looked up at Poe and smiled slightly. He’d been trying to get his parents and friends to call him Finn for years, now this stranger rocks up and agrees immediately.

  
“You’re gonna have to walk me through this, I’ve never actually done this before…” Finn returned back to his awkward position, staring at the floor, hands clasped tightly together in his lap. Poe placed a hand on his shoulder and furred his eyebrows together.

  
“What...sex?” Finn snapped his gaze up.

  
“No! A one night stand!” Poe released a sigh of relief.

  
“Well...First of all we’d wake up together with terrible hangovers-”

  
“Check…” Finn mumbled, his head still throbbing.

  
“Then we’d have coffee and breakfast, we’d have a casual conversation over breakfast, then you’d politely excuse yourself and we’d never see each other again…” Finn sighed, knowing his luck had run out. Maybe this was god's way of punishing him for drinking way too much last night. Poe slipped a finger under Finns chin, forcing the younger man to look up. A small amount of scruff formed on Poe’s chin, that along with his unruly hair gave him a rugged, handsome look.

  
“Or we could lazily fuck all morning until one of us needs to leave.” The smirk Poe had on told Finn exactly what option he wanted. Poe leaned in and pressed his lips against Finns. Poe tasted faintly of the cheap beer they had been drinking the night before, but he didn’t care, all he cared about was the man who was sliding his hand up his chest. As they broke away to pull Finn’s shirt off, Finn noticed the dark hickies along Poe’s neck and chest. He wasn't given long to think about it though, Poe was pushing Finn into the bed once again and the thing sheets had slipped from around his waist.  
Before Poe could pull Finn in for another heated kiss, he began to cough loudly.

  
“Woah, woah buddy.” Poe helped Finn up and pulled him into the bathroom, just in time. He pulled the toilet seat up as Finn began throwing up in the toilet bowl while Poe rubbed his back softly, murmuring comforting words. “It’s okay, just let it all out…” Finn continued to heave, wiping his mouth then looking up to Poe. Finn looked like a child who was about to be scolded by a parent.

  
“Sorry-” Finn was about to continue with his apology when Poe butted in, giving him a glass of water.

  
“Don’t be sorry, it happens. You think you’re okay?” Finn gave a meek nod as Poe stood him up and walked him back to bed. They laid together, Finn’s head on Poe’s chest as he nursed his hangover, Poe’s hand stroking down Finn’s shoulder lightly.

 

“I need to leave.” Poe mumbled into the pillow. Finn was still panting, out of breath from their previous escapades. Finn rolled onto Poe, clutching his waist.

  
“No, don’t leave…” Poe rolled over to nuzzle his face into Finn’s neck and inhaled deeply. They both smelled of each other's sweat, but that didn’t matter.

  
“I don’t want to, trust me, but I have to.” Finn closed his eyes tightly, gripping Poe around the waist.

  
“Is it a job? I’ll pay you!” Finn exclaimed, gripping Poe tightly, but he reluctantly pulled away, sinking into the mattress and watching as the older man left for the bathroom.  
Poe’s flat was large and spacious, he had a bookshelf with various novels, accompanied by the occasional military history or air-force book. A black guitar rested on the side of a table that held small model airplanes and an old style record player. His eyes skirted over to the book that laid open on the side of his cluttered desk, some lines were highlighted and others had small notes at the side.  
He was so invested in looking around Poe’s apartment, that he didn’t notice him walking back in from the bathroom, pulling on a shirt and tie.  
Poe sat by Finn on the bed and smiled.

  
“A view from the Bridge.” Poe said, closing the book to focus on Finn. “Not enough people these days appreciate good plays.” Finn nodded, leaning in to kiss Poe, who was fully dressed, while Finn laid in his bed, naked.

  
“So what happens now?”

  
Poe pulled back to slide his leather jacket. “I genuinely do need to leave, I’m sorry I can’t stay and make you breakfast, but there’s milk and eggs in the fridge.”  
Finn shook his head. “No I mean, if I leave, will I never see you again?” There was a slight amount of worry in his voice, he'd had a great time with Poe. Not just the sex. They had talked and cuddled, something Finn hadn’t felt comfortable doing with someone in a long while, he didn’t want to give that up.

  
Poe ripped a page out of a notebook and scrawled his number on it, passing it over to Finn.  
“Text me sometime, I had fun last night buddy.” Poe pulled Finn in to kiss his forehead tenderly before grabbing his bag and rushing out of the door, leaving Finn in a daze.  
Finn felt weird poking around in Poe’s personal stuff, so he mainly kept to himself as he ate toast at Poe’s kitchen table. It was a true bachelor’s kitchen, with a well used microwave and an oven that looked like it had never been used. Before Finn left he placed a small sticky note on Poe’s fridge. ‘Hope you had a good day - Finn.’ Followed by his mobile number.

 

* * *

 

 

‘Hey, it’s Poe. Saw your note, made me smile :) See you sometime next week? x’

  
Finn texted back ‘Of course, can’t wait :) x’ Grinning wildly at his phone, which was resting on a pile of boxes he was carrying. Tomorrow was the first day of University, and before starting he thought it wise bring some of his stuff up to the small, shared dorm, tonight would be his first night sleeping here.  
The halls of D’Qar University student accommodation block FN where relatively quiet. This quiet was broken by a feminine voice screaming “LOOK OUT” just before she came crashing into Finn, scattering his books and papers all over the floor, and the pair of them tumbling to the ground.

  
The girl jumped up, pulling out her earbuds and she had a pair of neon orange and white roller skates on and Finn’s thighs now had a pair of roller skate shaped bruises to match.  
“Hi! Sorry about that!” She said energetically, helping Finn up. He couldn’t help but marvel about how she stayed so still on roller blades. Finn gathered up his papers and smiled sheepishly.

  
“Oh it’s okay, I wasn’t looking where I was going…”

  
“Hi! I’m Rey!” The girl stuck out her hand and shook his energetically, and Finn shook it limply.

  
“Hi I’m Finle-” He paused mid sentence. He was close to saying ‘Finley’ but he cast his mind back to what Poe told him. “Finn. Finn is my name…My name, Finn. That is what I would like you to call me. Yup.” Rey took a minute to look him up and down.

  
“Finn Brunswick? Dorm 2187?” He nodded slowly. “Sweet! So you’re my new roommate!” Rey took him by the hand, dragging him quickly through the halls until they reached flat FN-2187. It was amazing how he was keeping up with her even though she was on skates. Who even wears skates inside?

  
Rey pulled him up to the door and shoved him inside, boxes and all. He’d photographs of the dorm room before, but that was nothing compared to how it looked now. Rey’s stuff was all over the furniture, blankets and homemade cushions lay strewn across the couch. It looked homely and lived in, inviting almost. Rey unbuckled her skates and placed them by a messy lot of shoes.  
“I’ll show you to your bedroom.” She took him by the hand once again and lead him towards a door, inside was a bed, desk and dresser. Finn placed his box of stuff on the bed, sitting down and testing the springiness of the mattress while Rey leaned against the door-frame.

  
“I’ll leave you to get settled in, but I gotta show you around the campus!”

Rey, Finn learned, knew everybody on campus. She stopped every 30 seconds to introduce him to someone new. She took Technical Engineering, but was also on every sports team imaginable. The campus was large, larger than any building he’d experienced before. D’Qar University was made up of various old stone buildings, connected by open green spaces full of trees and pathways. Finn had to jog to keep up with Rey while she was on her skates.  
She showed him the way to his lecture hall, the cafeteria, the library. Even to each separate toilet, commenting on them each individually.  
Their final stop was a small cafe on the outskirts of campus, Rey ordered them both a Coffee. Finn didn’t drink coffee but he politely accepted the drink and put as much milk and sugar in as he could, to stop it tasting like coffee. He sipped it cautiously while Rey talked to the lady behind the counter. She had long black hair and a name-plate that read Jess.

  
“So Rey, where did you pick up the new kid?” She joked, while readying Rey’s drink.

  
“New roommate, doing English Lit right?”

  
Finn found the words catch in his throat, so he just nodded. Jess hummed from behind the counter.  
“Ah, the guy who teaches that is a good friend of mine.” Jess handed Rey her coffee while they continued to talk. Finn stood there awkwardly drinking his week coffee.

  
“Good coffee?” Rey asked, Finn nodded, too polite to point out how he hated coffee. “It’s nice here, we don’t get many students in here, so it’s a nice place to hang out.”

That night, Finn curled up in bed, tugging the sheets around him. No matter what he did, the warmth of Poe wrapping his arms around him, never seemed to return, nothing gave him the same warmth that human contact did. Finn pulled out his phone and skimmed through his phone to find Poe.  
‘Missing you x’ He punched into the small phone, fumbling with the keys as he typed. He immediately regretted sending it, and frantically searched for a way to delete messages, before one beeped back.  
‘Missing you too, can’t stop thinking about you x’ Finn felt a leap in his heart, relieved to know that he wasn’t the only one who felt this way. He thought long and hard about what to send next, but after much deliberation. ‘Please have my gay babies’ wasn’t what he ended up sending.  
Instead he settled for ‘Maybe we can see each other soon? x’  
‘I’d love that, maybe we can have a proper date :) x’  
The texts went on through way into the night, getting sexually forward at around 3am, until Poe convinces Finn to go to sleep, promising he’d be there in the morning. For the first time in years, Finn went to sleep with a warm bubbling feeling inside him.

 

Rey woke him up bright and early the next morning. 6:30 am to be exact.

  
“Come on” She moaned. “I’ve never had a roommate before.”

  
“I wonder why…” Finn mumbled under his breath, sleep still in his eyes as he sipped milk in the living room. Luckily it was the end of summer, and sun still trickled through the blinds, even this early in the morning.

  
“I heard that! Anyway I never had anyone to count my sit ups, so you’re volunteering!” Finn begrudgingly set a timer, and until 8am, helped Rey with her exercises.  
Afterwards he showered and dressed in a simple jumper and shirt, attempting to look as neutral as possible. While brushing his teeth, Finn’s phone buzzed loudly.  
‘Have a good day buddy x’ Finn grinned to himself, packing his bag and setting off into the courtyard with Rey and her roller blades.  
He and Rey separated as he headed off to the large lecture hall, the lecturer wasn’t in yet, so Finn took his place in the front of the class, setting his notebook out on the table, quiet chatter filled the room. He decided to text Poe back, but before he had chance, the lecturer walked into the room.

  
“Goooooooood Morning class, I know most of you, but It’s nice to see some fresh faces this year!” The teacher stepped towards his desk, slumping his bag off his shoulder and setting up the projector. Finn snapped his head up, gawping at the teacher.

  
“For the ones who don’t know. I’m Professor Dameron but I’d prefer you call me…” He looked up, making eye contact with Finn. “...Poe.”


	2. Mr Cheezy McRomantic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe and Finn address the situation.

They stood there, looking at each other as time seemed to stop, just for the pair. Students filled the lecture hall, and it was only the ring of a bell that drew Poe’s gaze away from Finn, his mouth was slightly gaped open from shock. Poe looked smarter than the first time they had met, a grey suit jacket, coupled with a shirt and navy tie made him look very professional. With shaky hands, Poe opened his laptop and switched it on, and booting up the projector. The chatter in the lecture hall died down before Poe spoke.

“Yes, as I was saying. I will be teaching you English Literature for the next 2 years, if you survive that far anyway.” He scanned the crowd of students sat at individual desks, but refused to meet Finn’s eyes. Finn placed his phone on the desk and tapped his finger against it, Poe nodded slightly.  
He set some basic tasks to test their ability, low-grade work to keep them busy, then slowly slid the phone from his pocket. A text from Finn was waiting on his phone.

‘What the hell man? You never told me you were a teacher.’ Poe made sure all students were quietly working before he answered Finn back.

‘I only just got the job! You never told me you studied here’ Finn rolled his eyes, which earned a stern glare from Poe.

‘I transferred from Starkiller. You better not dress like that every day, I think the girls are starting to gossip.’

‘Finn, you do realise what this means?’ Finn sent back a series of question marks, followed by a taco emoji, probably by accident.

Poe’s pulse began to quicken, he shuffled uncomfortably in his chair. ‘Finn we’re treading on thin ice.’

‘What are we going to do?’ It was a while before he got a response.

‘You’re going to do your work, before behind. Talk to me after class.’

Finn typed out ‘Yes Professor’ but after a second thought deleted it and got back to his work promptly.  
Neither of them could concentrate on the tasks at hand, both of their minds distracted, Poe even stopped the lesson early.  
Finn began to speak when the rest of the class had left, even then their voices were low, echoing in the large, empty hall.

“Well, this wasn’t how I expected to meet you again.” Poe had made his way around to the front of the desk. Undoing the top button of his shirt and loosening his tie.

“Yeah, we never did get to go on that date.” Finn was looking towards him, however Poe still refused to meet his gaze. Poe chuckled, forcing his eyes up to look at Finn.

“This. Oh god, what are we going to do?” Finn’s face heated up, taking a step towards his teacher.

“I have a couple of ideas.” Finn slowly pressed his lips against Poe’s, testing the waters. Finn's new confidence was growing with every second that ticked by.

“This is wrong.” Mumbled Poe against his lips, but not pulling back. He said it again, with more force, pushing Finn away, but still gripping his hands so tight, as if someone might pull them apart.

“Poe I-” Finn started to talk but Poe interrupted.

“We can’t continue this, it’s against University policy. It’s… It’s _wrong_. This...whatever it is, has to stop.” His eyes betrayed what his mouth said. His deep brown eyes full of want and longing. “You should leave… Next class is tomorrow afternoon” He turned to clear his laptop and papers away, Finn stood there, stunned.

“It doesn’t have to end.” Finn’s voice cracked, dejected. Poe turned around, a sudden stern look covering his usually cheerful face like a mask.

“Yes it does, Finn. It wasn’t supposed to go like this!” Poe turned away from Finn, slamming his fist against the desk. “I was supposed to take you out, we’d have a cliché candle lit dinner, we’d drive by the river and take a walk by moonlight.”

Finn clutched his folder against his chest, stepping forward slightly, touching Poe’s shoulder slightly to get his attention,but Poe remained silent. “We can still have that.”

Poe huffed in mock amusement, which took Finn by surprise. “Maybe in a perfect world Finn, not in this one.” With that, Poe took his leave, taking his folders and laptop with him, leaving a stunned Finn alone in the grand lecture hall.

Anything could have happened outside that lecture hall. A bomb could have exploded and released a virus that turns everyone into zombies, Finn wouldn’t have realized. All he knew, was that he was stood alone in the lecture hall, feeling rejected and pushed aside.

 

Finn sat at the side of the netball court with Rey later that day, ice cream in hand. A few hours had passed since Poe had left, but Finn continued to feel glum. When Rey had asked if he wanted to tag along to practice he initially declined, wanting to sit and wallow in self-pity. But Rey had insisted, forcing him to change into of something that wasn’t sweatpants.

“Go on then, spill.” Rey had opted for a fruit cup instead of ice-cream, whereas Finn had the most indulgent sweet they had to offer, Rey’s treat.

“I’m fine really, I just met up with someone who I haven’t seen in awhile. He wasn’t pleased to see me.”

Rey punched his arm playfully. “I’m sure that’s not true, how could anyone not want to see you, Finn?”

“The thing is, he’s in my English Lit class, there’s no real way I can avoid him.” Rey shook her head, sympathetically patting Finn on the back.

“If he respects you, then I’m sure he’ll keep his distance.” Finn nodded, but inside he knew it wasn't as simple as that. It might be easy for Poe to keep his distance, but this was the first time Finn felt something with someone, that was more than attraction.  
Poe probably dealt with this all the time, one night stands who wouldn’t let go, but for Finn, this was a whole new world. Not wanting to discuss this with Rey, he changed the subject.

“So you’re on the Volleyball team, Fencing captain, Tennis coach and you still have time for your coursework?” She nodded enthusiastically, pulling Finn up to his feet.

“Don’t forget the Roller Derby!” She excitedly tapped the rollerblades, tucked inside her bag. Finn put on a brave face despite his foul mood. Rey looked at him in deep thought for a second, before her face lit up, she punched him on the shoulder, a little more forcefully this time. Finn winced and was about to ask what that was for, but before he got a word in edgeways she interrupted.

“You should join a society! Archery tryouts are on the back quad! I’m sure if we run we’d catch it”

“Oh no no no, I’ve been here for a day and a half, don’t you think that’s a little too soon?” She shook her head, tugging his hand, he briefly wondered where her iron grip came from, before remembering she also weightlifted.

“Nonsense! We need to get you signed up now, get your mind off that boy.”  
She lead him to a small square of grass, a well-used target at the far end, and a group of students congregating around.  
Rey marched straight up to them confidently, a significantly less confident Finn in tow.

“This is archery tryouts right?” There was a mumble of confirmation within the small crowd.

“Well my friend Finn wants to try out!” She pushed him forward into the metaphorical spotlight. A small blond girl stepped forward.

“Well your friend is too late, he’ll have to try out next year.”

“Aww come on Connix! I bet he’s awesome! He’ll definitely help you beat Starkiller Uni~” Rey’s voice had a sickly sweetness about it, like she knew exactly how to press Connix’s buttons.  
It took some convincing, but finally Connix passed him a bow and a set of arrows. The area went silent, all watching, waiting for something great to happen.

  
**First arrow: Miss.**  
**Second arrow: Hit white, One point.**  
**Third arrow: Miss.**

Finn could practically hear Rey cringing behind him. This wasn’t the result they expected, in short, he was shit.  
No matter how many tries they gave him he could only get white, the majority of arrows flying off into the grass.  
Connix held up her hand, and Finn lowered his bow, looking disappointed. He passed the bow over and smiled sheepishly.

“Never said I was any good.” He hung his head low until Connix replied.

“Well Finn, Rey’s friend, frankly you’re terrible, anyone can see that. But you have spirit and perseverance, that’s what we need. You’re in.” Connix started to walk away, despite Finn's bewildered expression. “We practice Wednesday and Friday mid-day, be late and you’ll be used as a target.”

Finn was met with some claps on the back by other members of the Archery Club, which apparently now he was a member of? This was all going way too fast for him.

“Well, that went better than expected, turns out you don’t need any actual skill to make the team.” Rey steered him away from his new found attention and pulled him into an alcove as it started to drizzle with rain over the campus, the previously clear sky was painted with grey and black splodges. They ran to a vending machine to pick up a quick lunch and parted ways, Rey off to train on the tennis court and Finn back to their dorm room.

 

The next day Finn had felt the consequences of running about in the rain. He woke up feeling his nose bunged up and a headache.  
Rey had insisted he stayed off for the day, he had Poe’s class in the morning, and the mixture of feeling shit and the humiliation of being rejected by Poe made him all to glad to miss the class for the day.  
Finn found himself alone and wrapped in a blanket burrito to keep warm while Friends was playing on their small TV. The heating had packed in for the entire floor, so Finn had an extraordinary amount of layers on.  
Rey wouldn't be back for hours, so Finn thought a little self-indulgence wouldn’t hurt. The rain lashed so hard against the window, he almost didn't hear someone knocking at the door.  
When Finn got up in his blanket-burrito to answer the door, he fully expected it to be Rey, who had simply forgotten her key. What he didn’t expect, was Poe to be stood in his dormitory hallway, the suit jacket and formal pants had been replaced with a more casual tan leather jacket and a pair of jeans.

“Hello, Finn...Burrito?” Finn sneezed, groaning and burying his head into the blanket wrapped around his body. “Rey stopped by to pick up your homework, she said you were sick so I brought you a care package.” He held up a plastic bag containing soup, tea and heat strips.

Finn takes a minute to process what’s going on before answering. “Why are you here?”

“I need to talk to you...can I come in?” Finn takes a step aside, letting Poe make his way into their small kitchen. Poe made Finn a mint tea, and a coffee for himself. He sat next to Finn, who had unwrapped himself from his blanket, now laying it across his legs, nervously playing with the edges of the sheet.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you yesterday, I guess I was just...shocked.” Poe hung his head slightly. Finn understood, he’s only human after all. “Finn, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since we met. It’s eating me alive. I...don’t know what to do.” Finn leaned over and took Poe’s shaking hands in his, even though Finn had only seen Poe a few times, he’d always been so composed and level-headed, this was like a whole different person, a person that only he knew.  
Without thinking, Finn leaned over and pressed his lips against Poe’s, effectively silencing him. Poe’s lips tasted like strong coffee, if this is what Poe tasted like every time Finn kissed him, coffee would become his favourite taste.  
Before anything got too far, Finn pulled back into a coughing fit.

“Maybe we do more of that when I’m better?” Finn held a tissue guarding Poe from his germs but Poe pulled it aside and they bumped noses, resuming kissing.

“No time. Lost too much time already.” Poe only stopped to catch his breath and place little kisses along Finn’s jaw line.

“I’ll make you sick!” Despite what he was saying, Finn didn’t put up a fight when Poe rested his forehead against Finn’s.

“I don’t care, let me be Mr. Cheezy McRomantic and take care of you.” Poe pulled Finn into his lap, tissues falling from the couch onto the floor.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Finn's fingers found the ends of Poe’s hair, twiddling with the strands

“Does doing you count?” Finn chuckled at Poe’s comment, Finn stuck his tongue out childishly.

“Did you come up here just to make snide comments?” Finn looked up at Poe, he was louged out over the older man's lap, his back supported by the arm of the couch.

 

“Not just that. Rey worried me about you being sick, worried me too much.” Finn smiled softly up at Poe, touched that he cared enough to visit him.

“It’s just a cold Poe, I’ll be okay after a nap.”

Poe put on a mock serious voice. “Nope, I’m afraid Doctor Dameron has prescribed lots of cuddles and soup.”

“Oh so you’re a _Doctor_ as well as aProfessor? I never realised how smart you are” Finn poked him teasingly in the chest, curling up closer into him.

“I’m a professor of English it’s not exactly rocket science.”

“C’mon, we all have our stories. How did you get into teaching Literature?” Finn was genuinely curious. Poe seemed like the kind of guy who should be playing a coast guard on Baywatch, not teaching.

 “I used to serve in the air force. In short, a severe back injury meant I couldn't fly anymore. Spent over a year in hospital, all I did was read, anything to distract myself. Plays, novels, non-fiction. Anything. Dean Organa and I go way back, so when she was a professor down,I filled in at short notice.” Finn looked up into Poe’s dark brown eyes, so many stories reflected in them, so many things to learn about him, so many things that they could share together

 “That’s a very drastic career change.”

“Yeah well, it’s what I needed.” Poe wrapped his arms around Finn, pulling him in closer. “What about you? What’s your story?”

Finn closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. “I lived in a large household, the people I lived with fostered a lot of kids, they all ended up doing science at Starkiller, I guess I just didn’t want to upset the flow. When I was accepted into Starkiller it dawned on me that it wasn’t what I wanted to do. Last minute I appealed to Dean Organa and she transferred me here.” He’d never told anyone this, no-one up till this point in his life cared enough, maybe now there is.

“Are you happy here?”

“Happier than I could have ever imagined.”

There was probably more they should have talked about, but right then, right there.  
Everything was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, I hope this one was a good continuation. I'm writing this chapter by chapter so if you have any questions or things you want addressing then go for it!


	3. One eye, One ear, One beating heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date nights never really do go to plan.

The one thing Poe worried about more than anything, was how their relationship would affect Finn’s education. But as it turns out, it didn't. If anything Finn got more work done in Poe’s classes than he had done in his high school English class. Finn would always have a question or two on how Arthur Miller’s play fits into historical context aspects of their community, and that would always result in the pair making out like teenagers on Poe’s desk with the blinds shut. They didn’t see eachother much aside from after class, so when they did, they made the most of it.

One Friday just as students flittered out of the classroom, Finn approached Poe. When everyone had left he slinked his arms around the older man from behind, preventing him from packing up and nuzzling his nose into his neck.

“So Sir. I didn’t really understand the vocab today, maybe I can find the answers in your mouth?” It was a lame line, and Finn knew it, but it was a segway to start kissing his neck. Poe sighed wistfully before pulling away to continue packing up.

“You know I want to babe, but I can’t. I have important stuff to do.” Finn pouted like a child, giving Poe his best ‘sad puppy’ expression. 

Finn wined “You do have stuff to do! But it involves bending me over a desk and-” 

“I’m going to the adoption shelter to pick up a cat.” 

Finn raised his eyebrow, surprised. “A cat?” 

“Yeah!” Poe started getting defensive. “ I’ve always talked about getting one, and now I have an apartment big enough for one, and a stable job so I can support it.”

“Fine, but I want to come too.” Finn slung his bag over his shoulder, grinning at Poe.

“You should be studying.”

“I’ll study on the way, c’mon it’ll be fun!” Finn had the same voice that Rey has when she’s trying to talk someone into doing something.

“I don’t know Finn… What if someone sees us?” Poe’s valiant effort to be responsible was wiped out when Finn went in for round two of puppy dog eyes.   
“Fine, but only if you study in the car ride.” Finn readily agreed, but it was obvious that wasn’t going to happen.

Once in the car, Poe was drumming his hands on the steering wheel nervously, Finn put a hand on Poe’s knee and rubbed his fingertips in circles, but this didn’t help, he continued to jostle nervously.

“C’mon Poe, what’s the worst that could happen?” 

“What if it doesn’t like me? What if my apartment isn’t big enough? What if our personalities clash? What if-?” Finn cut Poe off from his rant 

“Personalities clash? Poe, it’s a cat.” Poe shot Finn his best irritated look, but Finn just sunk into his seat, looking smug.

“You’re lucky you’re so cute. Otherwise I would have dropped you onto the freeway a mile back.” Finn ignored him, switching on the radio and belting out the lyrics to Teenage Dream. Poe joined him soon after, rolling down the window and resting his arm out the window. 

Once at the shelter Finn instantly took back anything bad he said about the cats. He was distracted looking at the various cats and kittens while Poe filled out paperwork. In the front room there were various cats getting exercise in a small play-area full small toys and little furry creatures. 

“Would you like to play with one?” The attendant asked Finn, he nodded enthusiastically as a black kitten was placed in his lap while another one pawed at his feet and one crawled up his back. 

“Poe, can you get... all of them?” Poe laughed, placing a hand on Finn’s shoulder as he bottle fed the tiny feline. 

“Mr. Dameron? All you paperwork is in order, if you’d like to follow me to see the adoptable cats”

The attendant lead Poe and Finn to a bleak corridor of cats in cages, all set into the wall. 

“It’s like a cat prison” Finn mumbled into his ear, Poe knew it was the best way of housing them, but he still felt sorry for them. They both held a few cats before deciding on a fat grey one, just as Poe was turning around to tell the attendant. A flash of Orange caught the corner of his eye. An extremely small, thin cat was in the end cage, it’s sad little eyes stared at Poe, one eye was a deep black, whereas the other was a milky white.  
Poe put down the grey cat and crouched in front of the little ginger cat’s cage. It’s head popped up, revealing only one, flopped over ear. 

“Hello.” Poe whispered, the small cat plodded up to the cage door, curious about Poe.

“So are you taking this grey one?” Finn called from behind him.

“No.” Poe mumbled, trying not to startle the cat. “Would you like to come home with me?”

The scrawny cat was boxed up in a pet carrier along with a toy and a blanket. Finn held it steady on his lap and Poe drove. Finn didn’t question why he chose this one when there were other perfectly healthy cats he could have taken home, the way that he looked at the kitten was the same way he looked at Finn the first morning they met, and there was a silent understanding between the pair.

“The shelter called her BB-8 after the cage number, what are you changing it to?” Finn stuck his finger into the carrier to stroke the now sleeping kitten.

“I don’t think I’m gonna change it.” 

“Poe, you can’t have a number in a name.”

“I have a PhD Finn, I’m going to do what I want.” Poe snapped back.

That shut him up. Finn glanced inside the cage. BB was sat in the back of the pet carrier, wrapped up in a blanket, sleeping soundly. The shelter had told Poe that they had found her in a car engine a few months ago, only one eye working and half of her ear chewed off. She never ate properly or slept well and as a result became very skinny and not very active.   
On the way back they stopped off to buy all the essentials. Poe had apparently not actually thought he would get cleared to adopt a cat, so had left everything last minute. They stocked up on premium cat food and anything else that was on the What to buy your new cat wikihow article.

Once back at Poe’s apartment, he put down the carrier and left the door open, she was far too timid to come out with the pair staring at her, so Poe had placed a little platter of food to try and coax her out while they lounged on the couch, the TV playing quietly. Finn’s head was lightly resting on Poe’s shoulder while he played with the strands of Poe’s curls. 

“Thank you for today Finn, I’ll take you out for a date tomorrow, my treat.” Poe rubbed his nose against Finn’s, lacing their fingers together and kissing him lightly. Little kisses turned into bigger, more passionate ones, and soon Poe had Finn pinned to the couch, his hand sliding up Finn’s t-shirt, his lips busy nibbling at Finn’s earlobe. 

“Don’t make any sudden movements,” Finn mumbled, his face turned to the side. “But BB-8 is out of the carrier.” Poe slowly turned his head to see the scrawny kitten padding out of the case and butting her head against the food, cautiously licking it. They laid and watched her eat until she had finished, but when she noticed the pair looking at her, she bolted under the nearest armchair, out of sight. 

Before Finn left to catch the bus back to campus, he and Poe did everything they could to make BB more comfortable, making a little bed of pillows and blankets under the chair so she had a safe space and pushing a little water dish under there. 

By the time Finn got in, it was early evening and Rey had friends over, drinking wine and gossiping, Finn recognised one of the girls as Jess from the coffee place Rey took him to visit on the first. His attempts to sneak past them but his efforts ended up futile.

“Finn! Come sit with us!” Rey demanded a bit too loudly, obviously a little drunk. Her roller skates propped up by the door, and her coat hung up neatly on the hook, she had shifted her stuff onto half of the shoe rack and one hook, giving him half of her space.

Finn sat gingerly down next to Rey, taking a small sip of the wine that he was offered, it tasted like flowers, alcoholic flowers that burned slightly. Finn generally kept out of the conversation, he learned that Jess is the assistant financial manager of the University while helping out at the coffee shop. She’s also a good friend of Poe’s.

Jess giggled and spoke while taking a large glug of wine. “So, I hear that Poe has a new squeeze!” 

Finn tried not to seem interested as he listened in on their conversation. 

“Only been seeing him for a couple of weeks but he told me he’s completely head over heals!” This caught Finn’s attention, he leaned in, attempting to look casual

“Who is it?”

“He won’t tell me, says he’ll introduce us when loverboy is ready. I do hear that he’s a lot younger than Poe, but he makes Poe feel things he hasn't felt in years! ” Jess was waving her glass around, clearly a little tipsy. A little wine dripped out of her glass onto Finn’s leg as she filled it up again, but he didn't care.

He fought back a grin, feeling butterflies fluttering in his stomach, threatening to break out. Poe really liked him that much? Finn’s heart beat hard in his chest, and a redness rose on his cheeks, he downed the rest of the wine in his glass, his mouth betraying him and smiling greatly. He decided to dig a little deeper.

“So how did you meet Poe?” Finn asked Jess, she just smirked and leaned back in the chair, like she was trying to remember some long story.

“Worked at a club in Las Vegas, we got blackout drunk together and accidentally got married. Why do they let you get married when you’re obviously that drunk? Anyway, we divorced the following weekend but became best friends in the process.”

As it turns out, Jess and Poe had quite a life together, they’d gone from job to job with each other, even enlisting in the army together, having various adventures and reuniting after a year apart at the university. Finn wasn’t sure what to believe and what not to, he made a mental note to question Poe about it later.

 

The next day Poe was lounging around in bed while Rey was off training when the text notification of Poe popped up.

‘Hey babe, I’m so sorry but I’m going to have to make a raincheck on that date night. BB-8 is throwing up everywhere and I don't want to leave her alone.’

‘Oh, Maybe another time then?’ Finn couldn't hide his disappointment.

‘I’ll take you to the fanciest restaurant in town, followed by ice cream, I would offer you to come over to mind but a throwing up cat might ruin the mood’

‘I don't need a fancy restaurant, I just want to see you.’

‘You cutie-patootie, well how about my apartment at 8? I’ll try to get BB-8 out of the way’

‘Okay, I'll figure out which bus goes up there.’ Up there refers to the wealthy side of the city, where Poe lived.

‘I’ll pay for a cab.’

‘You don't have to do that.’

‘Too late. Booked it. See you later, BB threw up in my shoe.’

True to his word. A cab arrived outside the FN block of student accommodation at 7.30, arriving at Poe’s apartment at promptly 8:00

As Finn pushed the unlocked door open, he found Poe’s living room just how he remembered it, however now it filled with various candles, scattered around the room, bathing the living area in a warm orange glow. All the cushions from the couch and chairs had been arranged around a small blanket in the centre of the room, like an indoor picnic.

Poe leaned against the door frame of the kitchen, throwing Finn a good looking smirk. He was dressed plainly in a pair of slacks and a casual dark green button up shirt with an apron saying ‘Fuck the Cook’ written on it, at least Finn didn't feel under-dressed.

Poe waltzed over to Finn and wrapped his arms around the younger man, pressing their foreheads together.

“You didn’t have to do this.” Finn was still lost for words, trying to take it all in.

“But I wanted to.” Poe instructed Finn to sit down while he brought glasses for the wine. “So how has your weekend been?”

“Good, had some time in on the Archery range while it was empty, hung out with Rey.”

“How is Rey? Still rollerblading?”

“You can’t stop her.” Finn took a sip of the wine, it was so much better than the wine he had with Rey and Jess. This one slipped smoothly down his throat and obviously cost a bomb. “I also met Jess.”

Poe coughed up a bit of his wine. “Jess? As in Jessika Pava? As in assistant financial manager Jess?” Finn nodded, but Poe looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

“She’s nice.”

“She didn’t tell you any...stories did she?” Poe his behind his glass of wine.

“Nah…” Poe released a sigh of relief. “Aside from when you two got married in Vegas, and also she may have told me about when you went skinny dipping in holy water.” Poe closed his eyes and winced. “Oh and of course the one where you both snuck into broadway musical auditions and actually got the parts.”

“Okay, that one’s half true! I got the part, she got kicked out before she opened her mouth!” They laughed together while Poe went to get the food, setting down small plates of Tapas style food for the both of them.

“It sounds like you’ve had a crazy life. Why settle down?” 

Poe set down his food. “No matter how much crazy shit we did and how much fun we had, it never quite filled the part of me that needed security. When in the Force I was always moving around, never let myself get attached to one place.” Poe stared off into nothingness, his face was illuminated by the flickering candles, and Finn couldn’t stop looking at the other man, silently wondering how the hell he’d bagged himself a Poe Dameron.

“So is staying here working out for you?”

“Depends how long you’re staying here for.” Finn blushed deeply, recalling when Jess talked about how highly Poe thinks of him. 

“I’m staying here until I quit University and become a stripper.” Finn giggled to himself, popping a bite-sized piece of food into his mouth.

“Talk to Jess, she might have some tips for you.” 

After an hour or so of chatting and eating, Finn decided he’d had enough of talking. He took the glass of wine out of Poe’s hand and leaned over to close the small space between them, colliding his lips with Poe’s. Poe smirked into his lips, leaving enough room for Finn to slip his tongue out of his own mouth and meet it with Poe’s. Finn could sit there and kiss Poe for hours, just like all the times he stays behind after class just to feel his lips against Poe’s, but tonight, he needs something a little more.  
Poe leaned back, letting Finn crawl up onto his lap and slowly unbutton Poe’s shirt, slipping it off his shoulders and tossing it aside. He ran his large hands up Poe’s chest, thumbing over his hardening nipples on the way up. Poe pulled away from the kiss to push Finn back onto the couch cushions that Poe had laid out on the floor, on the way down he managed to pull Finn’s shirt over his head,he attacked Finn’s chest with little kisses and love bites, licking over the reddening flesh.   
Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was just the heat of the moment, but whatever it was, it gave Finn the boldness to palm at Poe’s crotch through his jeans. Poe let out a staggered sigh against Finn’s stomach. As Poe shifted to tongue at Finn’s navel, the couch cushions shifted uncomfortably, so they were now sat on the hardwood floor.

“Maybe we should move this to the bedroom.” Finn breathed out, his eyes shut and his chest. Poe nodded and pulled Finn up by the hand, just before they exited Finn paused and looked back into the living room. “You’re not supposed to leave candles unattended.” He said in a ‘matter-of-factly’ voice. Poe ignored him and tugged him towards the bedroom, elbowing the door open and tossing Finn onto the bed. Poe crawled up on top of Finn, leaving the lights off and resumed kissing him. 

Poe reached to unbutton Finn’s jeans but paused. He wanted this to last, not just be some quickie, he wanted Finn to reach the heights of ecstasy more times that he can count, he was going to make Finn see stars tonight. 

Poe reached up and slotted his head in Finn’s warm neck, grinding himself against Finn, earning a loud moan from his partner. If Poe wasn’t careful, he’d end up going too fast, but when Finn bucked his hips up, rutting their crotches together, Poe knew he was gone. He sat up and pulled his own jeans off before bending over and pulling Finn’s zipper down with his teeth. 

Finn groaned loudly, burying his hand into Poe’s thick locks, pulling slightly. He pulled Finn’s jeans down until he’s able to kick them off onto the floor. Finn propped his head up on a nearby pillow so he can watch Poe without pulling at his his neck too much, his skin is scattered with lovebites and damp with sweat. Finn lowered his hand from Poe’s hair to touch his clean shaven face, Poe stares up at him, both of them panting with lust.

Poe licks a line up Finn’s underwear where his erection pulls at the fabric, needing to be set free but as he hooks his fingers around the waistband and Finn moans, a small meow can be heard from the floor.

Poe pauses. Finn pauses. The world around them pauses.

Poe sits up to see BB-8 on the floor, looking up at him with her one working eye, she’s not big enough to jump onto the bed yet so is stuck on the floor. Finn sits up and joins him on the end of the bed. 

“I completely forgot I put her in here…” Poe leans down and she grabs hold of his arm to pull herself up onto the bed, where she makes herself comfortable on his lap. “She can’t seem to sleep unless I’m in the room, she was probably waiting for me so she could nap.” Finn chuckles, and pets her soft fur. The kitten coughs slightly and throws up a little onto Poe’s leg, he reaches for his shirt and wiped it off with that, using the sleeve to wipe the drool from her tiny mouth.

“Maybe we could just put her in the bathroom or something?” Finn supplies but Poe shakes his head.

“She’ll start whining, maybe we can just...do it with her in the room? She’s asleep.” Poe pokes her, but she doesn’t move, confirming it.

“Ew Poe, no. I’m not doing it with a cat in the room.” Poe sighs.

“Well, I’m out of options…” Finn lays his head on Poe’s shoulder, his finger stroking along BB-8’s tail. 

 

“Thank you, tonight was great. Even if we didn’t get to do-the-do, you’re worth it.” Poe smiled and chuckled at Finn’s choice of words, tilting his head and kissing Finn’s hair. “I could get a taxi home if you want.” 

Poe pauses for a second before mumbling into Finn’s hair. “You could stay, It’s a Sunday tomorrow so you won’t have to get up for class.” 

“Okay.” Finn places a final kiss on Poe’s lips before crawling back and burying himself in Poe’s sheets while Poe blows out candles.

BB-8 seems less than impressed to have Poe leave but happily curls up on the pillow next to him when he returns. 

Finn lays his head on Poe’s chest, arms and legs tangled together. Poe falls asleep first, leaving Finn to pull back slightly, watching the older man sleep peacefully. 

“I think I might love you, Poe Dameron.” He mumbles before setting his head on a pillow and drifting off to sleep. When Finn is soundly asleep, Poe flutters his eyes open and presses a kiss to Finn’s forehead.

“I think I love you too.”


	4. You're the one that I want (Oh, Oh, Oh honey)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Christmas rolling around, Finn get's an unexpected notice from his family, luckily his friends are there to support him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost Chirtmas and Finn started Uni in Septmember, so they'll have been dating for the most part of 4 months as of this chapter.

“I’m sorry sweetie-pie I have to go to work.” Poe was laid sprawled out across his living room floor, suit crumpling underneath him, face to face with BB-8 and talking to her in the same way you’d talk to a baby. “I’ll be home as fast as I can, yes I will!” She looked up at him with her one good eye and pawed at his nose. Finn was behind him, rolling his eyes dramatically.

 

“Come on you’ll be late.” Finn muttered, folding his arms over his chest, he was dressed in one of Poe’s shirts and a jumper from the day before, having spent the night at Poes. In hindsight, it was a bad idea, as they both knew he had class the next morning.

 

Poe groaned, getting up from the floor and giving BB-8 one last kiss on the top of her head.

 

They parted ways once at the university, Finn heading to class while Poe went to grab a couple of textbooks before joining him. Finn sat at his usual seat front and center, pulling out his textbooks and pens. Finn waiting for Poe to start.

 

Finn was busy jotting down in his notepad when he felt a little tap at his shoulder, at first he ignored it but it persisted. On the third time, he made sure Poe’s back was turned before seeing who it was. The girl behind him shoved a note into his hand before returning to her work. Bemused, he opened it.

‘Hi, any plans after class?’ The handwriting was all joined up and looping, nothing like Finn’s blocky handwriting. He spared a thought for Poe, who must have to learn to deal with various types of handwriting day-to-day. He wrote a simple ‘Yes.’ before returning it.

 

He hoped that would be the end of it, but another note was tossed over his shoulder.

 

‘Do your plans involve me?’ Finn scrunched up his nose and laughed quietly, it reminded him of all the stupid pick up lines he gave to Poe when noone was listening. The girl behind him, whose name he couldn't recall, giggled. She must have thought he was laughing at her note. Finn scrawled out a ‘No, sorry.’ before making sure Poe wasn't looking and handed it back.

 

As the girl reached over Finn's shoulder, he heard Poe shout loudly.

 

“Brunswick! Deetoo!” Poe barked, Finn looked up in time to meet Poe’s stern gaze, the note falling on his desk. “There will be no note passing in my class, what are you? Middle Schoolers?” Finn had never heard this tone before. Sure he’d seen Poe angry, like when the cafeteria ran out of lime Jell-o, but not this angry. Now he seemed genuinely angered.

 

Poe glared directly at Finn, causing the younger man to inhale sharply, not letting the breath out until Poe was turned away. The note had a phone number on it, with a little heart. Finn simply folded it up and put it in his bag, ignoring it.

 

Throughout the rest of the lesson, Poe wouldn't even look at Finn, making dread pool in his stomach. After the bell for class had rang, Finn was about to leave, when he found someone was blocking his way.

 

It was the girl who sat behind him, who’d gotten him in trouble for passing notes. She was shorter than him by a good foot, with pale skin and frizzy blond hair and wearing a blue and white striped jumper.

 

“Sorry about getting you in trouble with Dameron.” Finn shook his head, brushing it off.

 

“Don’t worry about it.” He mumbled, trying to get past her, Poe was packing up and might leave without him if he didn't hurry. The girl blocked his path once again.

 

“Rebecca.” She smiled brightly.

 

“Finn. Look I need to, uh-” He tried to get past her but she caught his arm. By this point the large room was only occupied by Finn, Rebecca and Poe, who was at the front, typing at his laptop.

 

“You wanna grab a coffee sometime? You should text me! Wanna go see a movie? Or we could go bowling!” Rebecca took a step closer to Finn, getting uncomfortably close, she looked like she wouldn't take no for an answer.

 

“Uh, sure.” She giggled and skipped down the aisle, passing Poe on the way out.

 

“Have a good evening Professor. Dameron!” She chirped.

 

“You too Miss Detoo.” He grumbled. The door slam echoed throughout the lecture hall.

 

“I’m... sorry for passing notes.” Finn chewed on his lip, watching Poe continue working, he didn't even look up from his laptop.

 

“It’s fine. I wouldn't want to infringe on your date.” There was a definite tone of bitterness in his voice.

 

“I’m not going to go, I just said that so she’d leave me alone.”

 

Poe looked up from his work and sighed. “You should, you looked cute together.” This time there wasn't any bitterness in his voice, he just sounded...sad.

 

Finn sat on Poe’s desk, closing his laptop so Poe had to look up at him. “Poe, I don’t need anyone else, I have you.”

 

Poe shook his head. “No, you should be with someone like her, someone you can bring home to meet your parents, you should want to be with-” Before Poe could continue, Finn leaned forward and roughly pressed his lips against Poe’s. Foreheads bumped and teeth clanked together, but it did the job of shutting Poe up very well.

 

Finn broke the kiss apart, but kept their foreheads pressed together. “I want Poe. Poe who sings in the shower, Poe who makes baby noises to his cat, Poe who holds my hand during thunderstorms and sends me cute texts during the day.” Finn dives in another kiss. He mumbles against his lover's lips. “That’s who I want.”

 

Poe dove his face into Finn’s shoulder, squeezing his shoulders tightly.

 

“You’re the one that I want, you are the one I want, oh oh oh honey.” Finn sang while playing with Poe’s hair,  the reference to when Poe auditioned for Grease made him chuckle. Finn hummed happily, feeling the vibrations against his neck.

 

“Shush you” The playful scolding was accompanied by a soft slap on the arm. “I should tell Jess never to tell you any stories again.

 

A small of the door opening was enough to spring the two apart, creating distance. Poe straightened out his tie, quickly acting like he was doing work. The man from before shuffled in, almost nervously.

 

“Mr. Dameron? If you don’t mind I would like to go through some planning with you...only if you don't mind!” His voice was deep but quiet with the occasional anxious stammer.

 

“Of course.” Poe glanced towards Finn. “Finn this is Ben Solo, he’ll be my teaching assistant after Christmas. Ben this is Finn Brunswick.”

 

Ben reshuffled the papers in his arms to hold out a hand for Finn to shake. “It’s nice to meet you Finn.

 

Finn nodded politely. “Well I’ll leave you too it, I’ll see you later for our revision session in the _library_?” Finn hoped Poe got his drift to meet him in the library when he’s finished. Poe nodded professionally and began talking to Ben about work, Finn slid out of the room unnoticed.

 

Poe met Finn outside the library and Poe tugged him straight to his car. Poe was very assertive that he didn’t want to show any affection when someone could possibly see, he was also dead against screwing around in the classroom, saying ‘It makes me feel weird, like what I’m doing is wrong.’ So they strictly kept fucking for the bedroom...or the kitchen.  

 

The day ended as usual with Poe driving Finn home and a quick kiss, leaving Finn feeling all tingly, inside. Rain was starting to fall, so Finn took this opportunity to draw a little heart with the condensation on the glass with his finger before leaving. Poe smiled, watching Finn unlock the door with his keycard and slipping inside.

 

Before driving off, Poe wrote ‘I love you’ in the glass, gazing at the writing and driving off. By the time he pulled into his shared driveway both his writing and Finn's heart had bled into each other, creating an unreadable mess on his window.

 

* * *

 

 

Finn grew to love his English Literature classes, not just because Poe was teaching them, but because he was free to give his opinions on matters and no one could say he was wrong. His family had pushed him towards science, which always had a definitive answer, 2 + 2 = 4. Poe on the other hand had taught him that he could put forward the argument that 2 + 2 = 5 if he had a good enough argument.

 

He was living in a whole different world to what he was used to, he had friends, a loving boyfriend, he was excelling at his class and for the first time, Finn could say he was happy.

 

He’d had a couple of texts from his parents here and there but not much, it was understandable as they foster a lot of children and had a lot on their plate. What he didn't expect was a very formal letter from them, telling him exactly what they thought of his choices in life.

 

He read through the letter at their small kitchen table, reading every sentence very clearly. ‘We’re taking everyone away for Christmas this year, but seen as you think you can make your own decisions in life, then you can pay your own way.’ It was a valid point, all his brothers and sisters would be able to pay out of their own pocket to go away, so Finn shouldn’t be any different. But he couldn’t pay, deep down, he knew his mother knew that.

 

Finn just shoved the letter in his pocket and forced himself not to think about it. Christmas was just less than a month away, and that was enough time to forget about it.

 

The colder weather brought in frost gathering on the small tendrils of grass that crunched under Finn’s feet as he stepped away from the archery range with Rey.

 

“Come on, let’s go get coffee. If we’re lucky I might be able to charm Jess into giving us free cake.” Rey grabbed his hand and pulled him along while he mumbled something about her not having to wear skates _all_ the time, which she promptly ignored.

 

When they got into the coffee shop however, Jess wasn’t at the counter, but sat at one of the booths next to the window, Finn hung back a little bit, letting Rey lead. Themed Christmas drinks were being displayed on the counter, which momentarily distracted Finn from following Rey, he was never allowed fancy sugary while he was living with his parents, but maybe now It was time to branch out. Just as he was about to order an overly complicated ‘Peppermint Creamed Dark Chocolate mocha’ Hot drink, he heard Rey call out. The relatively quiet coffee shop was filled with Rey being loud.

 

“Yo! Oh hey Poe!” Poe was sat across from Jess, holding a large mug of black coffee and laughing, as soon as he spotted Finn, his eyes lit up cheerily. Poe’s nose was tinged pink from the cold, Finn made a mental note to call him Rudolph later on, when they were alone. Poe had on his battered leather jacket that Finn was used to seeing him in.

 

“Hey Finn!” Jess chirped in, reaching over and punching him on the shoulder, Poe raised his coffee and Finn nodded back at him in a vague attempt to be causal, Poe was much better at being casual than Finn.

 

Rey slid in next to Jess, leaving Finn to take the seat next to Poe, the brush of their legs was enough to send bolts of electricity down Finn’s spine, making him go all tingly right to the fingertips, he prayed that this feeling wouldn’t continue, otherwise he might not be able to get a word out.

 

The conversation flowed nicely, Finn didn’t say much, just opting to nod along and only talk when directly asked something. Poe must have felt the tense atmosphere emanating from the younger man, he brushed his hand against Finn’s leg, momentarily but purposefully. Finn sunk back into his seat, smiling at Rey, who was sat across from him.

 

Jess grinned wildly. “Poe’s spending Christmas with me this year, like a lonely old man.” Poe smirked into his coffee, and if the yelp from Jess was any indication, he also kicked her under the table.

 

“Yes, marking papers and drinking till dawn while watching Die Hard, gonna be like old times Pava.” Jess grinned proudly.

 

“Your cat doesn’t seem to like me much though” Poe smiled into his coffee.

 

“I’m not surprised, you tried to tickle her and she pissed on you.” Finn snorted loudly, causing laughter to erupt from the rest of the group.

  
“Who the fuck calls a cat BB-8 anyway?”

 

Jess and Rey made their excuse to leave soon after, leaving Poe and Finn sipping drinks together. Finn was concentrating hard on a small piece of plastic Holly that was placed at the center of the table as some sort of decoration. Poe nudged Finn to get him out of his daydream.

 

“They’re gone you know.” Finn looked up, confused, before he realised he was talking about Jess and Rey.

 

“Thank god, I don’t know how much more I could have taken.” Poe grins at Finn, taking his hand and rubbing it, Finn immediately melted into Poe’s soft touch.

 

“You look so cute, all I wanted to do was kiss you.” Poe mumbled quietly, his eyes looking around. Finn leaned in, but Poe pulled away, sighing heavily. “We can’t, people are around.” Finn agreed reluctantly.

 

“It’s not fair…” Finn wined, pouting like a child.

 

“I know baby, but we have the holiday’s coming up. I’ll take you someplace upstate where we can PDA as much as we like.” Finn smiled up at Poe, knowing the other man was trying just as hard to restrain himself.

 

The door to the coffee shop was opened once more, bringing in a small gust of wind, hitting Finn directly, causing him to shiver violently. Poe took it upon himself to take off his own jacket and push it into Finn’s hands.

 

“I can’t take this.” Finn tried to say, but he could hardly get his words out from his chattering teeth. Poe ignored him and pulled the jacket over Finn’s shoulders.

  
“Oh look at that, it suits you!” Before Finn could argue Poe was getting up from his seat and exiting the coffee shop, giving some excuse about papers to mark. Finn smirked to himself, knowing Poe just ran off so Finn couldn’t give him his jacket back. It was a little tight, but the fabric smelled of Poe, and that gave him enough strength to put a spring in his step as he started his journey home, small flakes of snow starting to fall.

 

 

When he got in Rey didn’t even question why he was wearing Poe’s jacket, she just mumbled something about him not getting snow on the sofa. After a brief chat with Rey about where to put Christmas decorations, she had told him that she was spending Christmas here this year, which made Finn recall the letter his mother had sent him and the fact that he should probably give her a response.

 

Finn stared at the phone in his lap, the letter from his parents underneath it. He’d need to call them back to let them know he wasn’t coming. He laid back in bed, listening intently to the ringing tone, silently hoping they wouldn’t pick up however he wasn’t that lucky.

 

“Hey ma, I hope you and the rest of the family have a nice time in Lapland but I won’t be able to make it, I just don’t have the money right now…”

 

“Is that because you’re spending your money on getting drunk with your friends?” His mother snapped from the other end of the phone. “Believe it or not Finley but your brothers and sisters are coming with us because they _can_ pay their way.”

 

“I know ma…I just can’t afford any trips abroad for a while” Finn sighed, burying his head in a freshly washed pillow.

“As I thought, swindling money..” Finn rolled his eyes. Throughout High School he’d have to send his mother the receipts of anything he bought, proving he had spent the money correctly. Three years ago he bought a CD and she’d never stopped bringing it up since. “I can’t believe you can’t spare anything to see your family at Christmas..” He can barely afford rent and food, never mind impromptu trips to Lapland.

 

“I’m not swindling money ma, you could spend Christmas at home this year, or maybe if you just lend me the money for a while so I could spend Christmas with you-” Finn braced himself from the incoming rant from his mother about money lending. “Okay ma well It’s been fun talking to you, tell Slip I say hi.”

 

“Have fun without your family Finley, I’ll tell them you’ll see them next Christmas. I hope you’re happy.”  He could feel her animosity from the end of the phone before she hung up.

 

“Merry Christmas Ma…” Finn mumbled into the silent phone.

 

There was so much that had been left unsaid in the unsatisfying phone call, so many things he wanted to say. ‘Why can’t we spend Christmas together?’ and ‘I want to see you, why don’t you want to see me?’ He had Poe’s jacket in his arms, holding it like a security blanket.

 

Finn laid there in bed, numb. It may have been dark outside but it was only early evening, Finn heard a knock at his door, but stared up towards the ceiling, his eyes beginning to water.

 

“Finn? Masterchefs on, they’re doing that funny thing with sugar again so I thought you might like to- Finn?” Rey poked her head into his room, slowly approaching him. “Finn? Are you okay?” Her usual playful tone was replaced with worry.

 

Finn took a deep breath and, nodded while feeling hot tears spill from his eyes. Without a second to spare Rey, who was considerably smaller than himself, wrap her arms around him, pulling him into her chest.

 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t cry.” Finn’s voice betrayed him, cracking at every word.

 

“Shut the fuck up Finn, of course you can cry. Everyone needs to cry.” Finn buried his face into Rey’s soft gym shirt before letting it all loose. 23 years of pent up emotions came spilling out as Rey stroked his head softly, whispering words of encouragement.

 

“It’s okay Finn, cry all you want.” She’d repeat ‘it’s okay’ over and over again, and everytime she did, new tears formed. Tears that he had to hold in every time someone said it wasn’t okay to cry, tears that should have been let out when he broke his hand at 13, and had his heart broken at 15, or when he failed his history exam at 17.

 

Rey waited until he had finished crying before taking her shirt and drying his face with motherly tenderness. She pulled him into a ball in front of the sofa, wrapping him in a blanket and placing a mug of sweetened hot chocolate in his palms. She didn’t ask why he was crying, just made sure he was okay.

 

The tears started again, softer this time. Rey leaned her head on his shoulder and rubbed his back comfortingly. “Is there anyone you want me to call?

 

Finn thought for a minute before answering. “Please can you call Poe?”

 

Rey pulled back a little bit, knitting her brows together. “Poe Dameron?” He sniffled a little and nodded. She reached for Finn's phone and found Poe’s contact.

 

“Hey honey-buns, what’s hanging?”

 

“Poe, it’s Rey.”

 

The line went deathly silent.

 

“Finn’s in a bit of trouble, would you mind coming over?”

 

“What’s the matter? Is he okay? Are you okay? Are you in danger? Do you need an ambulance? Do you have healthcare?” Rey shook her head, even though he couldn’t see her through the phone.

 

“Everything’s okay, he just wants you here.” There was a quick confirmation from Poe and a loud bang from a door being slammed before he hung up.

 

Rey made her way back to the living room, where Finn was sat shaking, clutching the jacket closer to his body.

 

“Poe’s on his way.” Rey looked up at him with the most tender gaze, genuine care was swimming in her eyes. He decided to tell her the truth, it wasn’t probably the best idea, since he was in such a vulnerable state, but he needed this right now.

 

Finn told her everything, from their first meeting to adopting BB-8 together and the way he thought Finn was going to leave him for some girl.

 

“You won’t tell anyone...will you?” His voice was laced with sudden fear, Rey shook her head dismissively.

 

“Of course not.”

 

“Rey… he...he makes me so happy.” Finn smiled sheepishly towards the floor. “And I think he feels the same.” Before Rey had chance to respond, there was a violently loud knock at the door.

 

“It’s open!” Rey calls out and Poe comes crashing in.

 

“Finn? Finn are you okay? Finn?” As soon as Poe spotted Finn, he dove in front of him, taking his still shaking hands. Poe suddenly became aware of Rey next to Finn, he looked up at her, slightly frightened of the younger woman.

 

She smiled kindly at him. “I know.” She whispered. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.”

 

Poe slid Finn into his lap, where Finn crawled up into a ball, hiding his face in Poe’s leather jacket, he kissed Finn’s head softly, nuzzling his face into his hair. “I’m here, don’t worry.” Poe could feel his shirt become damp where Finn lay his face.

 

The three of them sat like that for a while, the TV playing quietly in the background. “You don’t have to talk about it baby, but sharing the load helps, especially when you have people around you who care.”

 

“My family doesn’t want to see me for Christmas.” Finn mumbles against Poe’s chest after a long minute of silence. Rey hands Poe a glass of water to give to Finn. “They’re going away to Lapland for Christmas, I can’t afford to go so they’re going without me.” Poe’s grip around Finn tightened. “They...they don’t want me there.”

 

Poe pulled Finn’s face up to meet his, he lay a soft kiss on Finn’s nose. “I want you. Finn, spend Christmas with me.”

 

“You’re only saying that because I’m a blubbering mess.” Finn hid away in Poe’s jacket, hiding his face.

 

Poe held Finn close to his body, as close as he possibly could. “No Finn, I didn’t say it sooner because I didn’t want to scare you away. Spending any day with you is a pleasure.”    

 

“But then Rey will be alone”

 

Rey patted Finn’s hair softly. “I don’t mind, I spend it alone most years-”

 

Poe butted in before she could get any further. “You can come with us if you like.”

 

“Really? Are you sure?” The last thing Rey wanted to do was impose on their Christmas together.

 

“No-one should be alone for Christmas, I’m sure Jess won’t mind with a bit of a party.”

 

Finn raised his head up, wiping away the tear streaks “But that means you’d have to tell Jess.”

 

“Finn, honey. We went streaking in the Nile, on the scale of stupid things she’s seen me do I think this is pretty low.” Finn and Rey laughed and the air became less tense.

 

Finn fell asleep on Poe after the third episode of MasterChef, Poe was stroking up and down Finn’s back with the lightest touch, rubbing all the right places that made Finn smile in his sleep.

 

“Dameron?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“If you cross Finn you’ll have rollerblade imprints on your face for weeks.”

  
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy, the next chapter'll be a happy one.  
> If anyone’s wondering about Finn’s second name 'Brunswick' It's the name of my of my guitar that I play when I get stuck for ideas, so I wanted to pay homage to my baby. But anyway, I’d love to hear what you guys think and where you think this might be going!


	5. Blowin in the wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas comes around and Finn realises he now has the family he never had!

University was out for the holidays. The only people around had been students and teachers who had nothing better to do around the holidays than to hang around the university campus. Snow had been falling, leaving an inch or so on the ground. Finn thought he’d enjoy the snow, but being pelted with snowballs by Rey wasn't so fun. She was in a miserable mood because her skates wouldn't work in the snow,  so she was forced to wear _normal_ shoes.

 

Due to the snow, Rey and Finn had bunkered themselves into their small dorm, bringing in reinforcements of pillows and blankets to keep the cold out. Rey sat with Finn on their small, old sofa, laptop between them and Finn was excitedly pointing to objects from an online catalogue.

 

“Ohhhh! What’s that?” Finn was smiling in wonderment like a child picking out their birthday present.

 

“That Finn, is a waffle Iron.” Finn grasped the mouse and began reading about the specification of a waffle iron.

 

“So it just...makes waffles?” Rey rolled her eyes, skeptical that he’d never heard of a waffle iron before.

 

“I can’t believe you’ve never done online shopping.” Finn was only half listening, too preoccupied with a donut maker he was adding to his shopping cart. Christmas money came early from his relatives and family friends.

 

Another very bitter letter from his parents came in the mail, along with individual, more understanding ones from the friends he grew up with. Some of his siblings got adopted and taken away to various places around the country, but they still kept in touch. Finn was never adopted, just stayed in limbo with his foster parents for his childhood. He was glad to have a letter from one of his foster brothers, Slip, who sent him a heartwarming letter along with a check.

 

Rey clicked on an icon that brought him to a fresh produce site.

 

“Wait… you can buy food online? And have it delivered? This changes everything!” Finn beamed up at Rey with glee, she patted his head.

 

“Oh Finn, you sheltered little muffin.” He ignored her, completely set on finding the cheapest price for microwave meals. “Do you know what you’re getting for Poe?”

 

Finn sighed heavily, adding more to his basket. “No… I want something to say I love him, but I don’t want something too serious and scare him off while also being something practical but fun at the same time.”

 

“Wow, you’re not asking for much. What about a book?”

 

“He has a lot already...maybe some prints of poetry?” Rey rolled her eyes.

  
“Sure, if you want him to think he’s boring.”

 

“Poetry isn’t boring, you’re boring.” He shot back.

 

“Have you thought about sex toys? They’re fun _and_ practical! Plus you’ll both enjoy it.” Reys tone was deadly serious.

 

Finn screwed his face up like he’d just chewed something sour. “Ew, Rey...No, gross…”

 

“Okay, he likes music, how about a guitar?”

 

Finn hit his head against the keys of the laptop in frustration. “A little bit out of my price range Rey, but on the right track.”

 

Rey quickly swatted him aside and typed in something on Amazon. “What about something aircraft related?”

 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to bring back...bad memories…” Finn never brought up Poe’s time in the air force, thinking it might be a sore subject.

 

“Are you kidding me? For his birthday Jess got him a toy Spitfire and he wouldn’t stop playing with it until the next thanksgiving! Tell you what, he likes old shit, I bet you’ll be able to pick something up at the antique shop.”

 

“Do they have an online shop?” Finn asked.

 

“No, you’ll actually have to get out of your pajamas for this.” Rey threw a pair of jeans in his face, groaning something about if they wanted to make it, they’d have to hurry. “Come on, the show has eased up.”

 

The antique shop was a thin, tall and old building that looked out of place in their mostly modern neighbourhood. It had various odd things in the window, including creepy dolls that seemed to follow him wherever he looked. There was a large sign reading “Maz’s antiques” In a black, swirling font. No sooner they stepped inside, a small woman with extremely large glasses rushed up to them, Finn wasn’t particularly tall, but she was easily half his size, maybe smaller.  
  
“Rey! It’s good to see you again! What can I do you for?” Rey beamed at the lady.

 

“This is Finn, he’s looking for something to give to his boyfriend for Christmas.” Finn sunk behind Rey, slightly apprehensive of the woman.

 

Maz took his hand and lead him through the shop. “What kind of things is the gentleman in question into?”

 

Maz lead the pair around the shop, showing them both each intricate object she had on offer from an army of taxidermy ducklings to ridiculously overpriced victorian lace handkerchiefs, seriously, who pays $30 for a bit of lace?

 

After a while of searching, Finn came across something that caught his eye. It was a box of vintage Airfix plane models, in good condition, containing all the parts. The art on the box and the pieces were slightly faded, but still beautiful. Finn could almost imagine Poe in one of the planes, soaring high above everyone, showing off. He placed the box in his basket, along with a record of Bob Dylan's ‘Blowing in the wind’

 

As Maz was pricing everything up, her eyes fell on the Airfix kit.

 

“Ah, they’re a steal. The owner got it for Christmas but unfortunately passed away before he had chance to make them, his grandparents brought it in recently and told me to sell them cheap, in hopes someone would have some joy out of them.” She placed them into a bag and sent them on their way with a smile.

 

“Do you think he’ll like it?” Finn asked on the bus journey home, Rey smiled and flicked his cheek.   
  
“He’ll love it.” Finn found comfort in her words, not so much from the flick on the cheek though, Rey has strange ways of showing affection.

 

‘Hey, we still on for Christmas?’ Finn texted Poe later that night. It was the evening before Christmas and Finn was starting to get edgy that Poe was going to retract his offer for he and Rey to spend Christmas.

 

‘wo dis?’ He got in response.

 

‘Finn. What time are you picking us up? Rey wants to know’ There was no public transport operating on Christmas day and Poe refused to let them walk in the snow all the way.

 

‘finn whoooo? rey whoooo?’ Oh god. Poe might have slipped and hit his head in the shower and gotten amnesia, just as Finn was about to call Rey over for help there was another ping from his phone.

‘jk i kno its you babe b readi 4 8 jess is driving me craazaaay’

 

Finn could tell Poe had a bit to drink already, the grammar in his texts gets progressively worse as he drinks. What annoyed Finn most about drunk Poe, was his ability to wake up like nothing happened and get on with his day, without the crippling hangover.

 

Finn smirked into his phone. ‘Okay babe, don’t drink too much.’ he typed out an ‘I love you’ at the end, but quickly erased it and simply replaced it with a single kiss.

Rey always complained that they just needed to come out and say it to each other, but Finn knew that it was much, much more complicated than that.  

 

* * *

 

 

Christmas day couldn’t come soon enough. They both stood around the door, presents in a bag and Christmas jumpers on. Rey had a sandy yellow one one with ‘Don’t talk to me about fucking snow.’ written on it. Rey was originally from deep in the desert and only experienced snow at Christmas when moving out here. Finn, on the other hand had gone for a much more traditional one in Red and Green with white snowflakes that he was sent by one of his foster brothers.

 

They both opened the door and screamed “MERRY CHRISTMAS” as soon as Poe knocked on the door. He laughed heartily and pulled them both in for a warm hug, wetting the pair slightly from the snow that clung to his coat.

 

“Merry Christmas guys! Your carriage await!” They walked through the halls of the FN block of dorms, the rooms mostly deserted. Finn smiled at Poe, reaching over and clutching his hand tightly. It felt nice to walk hand in hand around the deserted campus up to the car, it felt nice to freely smile at the one he loved, around the deserted campus without fear of someone seeing. It felt nice.

 

Poe’s living room had been decorated in all the bits and pieces of Christmas merchandise that you’d expect from a family home with several children. No children there though, just one Jess sat in the middle of the floor debating with herself what eggnog to dark rum ratio was best, she finally decided on 4 parts rum, to 1 part eggnog.

 

She sprung up and enveloped Rey in a hug. “My Rey of sunshine! Merry Christmas! ” Finn got a couple of kisses on the cheek from Jess that he awkwardly returned. “And how you doing Finny? Heard you’re fucking my best friend!” She shouted with a grin.

 

“Yeah…” He slowly broke away from Jess’ hold, she continued to beam at him before walking away into the kitchen to presumably find more alcohol.

 

Poe came up behind Finn and put a hand on his waist, pulling him in close to nuzzle his nose into Finn’s neck. “Merry Christmas cutie-pie.” Finn smiled and leaned into his touch.

 

“Merry Christmas handsome, where’s BB?” Finn asked.

 

“She’s at a friends house, thought she might be overwhelmed with people.”

 

Finn turned around to give Poe a proper hug. “Well now I don’t have to share you.” Poe chuckled, but before he could respond Rey groaned loudly, causing them to sluggishly break apart.

 

“Ugh, stop being so happy, you’re making me feel bad.” She playfully sat down in Poe’s large armchair, folding her arms and pouting like a child.

 

“So what’s the plan for tonight?”  Finn asked.

 

“Well, when Jess has stopped drinking she can help me put dinner in the oven and after dinner we’ll have drinks and presents.” The word ‘drinking’ made Jess holler from the kitchen. “Okay, maybe no more drinking for you.”

 

“What’s for dinner?” Rey asked, her mardy facade long forgotten.

 

“There’s pork and apple with sweet potatoes and a sweet potato and fetta tart for Rey the veggie.” Rey pumped her fist in the air and cheered.

 

Dinner went relatively smoothly, Jess managed to stop drinking for a while to eat her meal, constantly reminiscing about the Christmas she and Poe spent in Turkey with a family who didn’t speak any English.

 

Finn kept away from the alcohol, remembering that the last time he drank he had the mother of all hangovers. After dinner had wined down, Finn insisted on washing up but Poe had other plans, bringing out an aged bottle of port that he had been saving.

 

“Woah, woah, no more for you.” Poe assertively told Jess as he pulled the bottle of port out of her hand, that she had snatched from him, she groaned but let go eventually. “Time for preeeeeesents.”

 

It was easy to tell who had wrapped what present, anything from Finn was wrapped neatly in baby blue tissue paper with a pink bow and a neat little tag. If it was from Rey it was in a Christmas themed paper bag, if from Poe it was wrapped up in last years left over wrapping paper and covered in masses of sellotape but if it was from Jess it was just left without any wrappings.

 

Rey had received headphones from Finn, A new gym bag from Poe and a new yoga mat from Jess.  Jess was delighted to realise that she’d been given chocolate and alcohol, Poe covered his face with his hands, mumbling about how they’re just fueling her.

 

Finn opened up a very oddly shaped present from Poe and was ecstatic to find a new bow of his own, a new model that he had been eyeing in the shop complete with target and extra arrows. He leapt onto Poe and pulled him in for a kiss while Rey and Jess made vomiting sounds in the background. Jess demanded she test it’s accuracy but Poe cut her off, saying ‘There will be none of that going on in my living room.’

 

Finn had also received a book about Lego from Jess and a nice shirt from Rey, which he was very thankful for.

  
  


Just as Finn was pulling out his present for Poe, Rey nudged Jess and pulled her out of the house for a walk in the newly laid snow, leaving Poe alone with Finn. The sly look on Rey’s face suggested to Finn that they wanted to get out of the way so he and Poe could have some alone time.

 

Finn circled his arms around Poe’s waist, smiling shyly at him. “I still need to give you my present.”

 

Poe chuckled lowly, pressing his forehead against Finns. “You being here is enough for me.”

 

“Come on, seriously. I wanna give you something.” He broke away to pull out the two neatly wrapped presents, one large and flat, the other a small box, each donned a little pink ribbon bow.

 

Poe unwrapped the presents carefully, he opened the record first, delightedly exclaiming that he was looking for this for a while, but before he could get up and add it to his record collection, he was interrupted.

 

“Stay and open the other one.” Finn insisted.

 

Poe’s face lit up once he opened the box to find the antique Airfix plane.

 

“I didn’t know if you had it or not, all the pieces are there so you could make it or just put the box on display. Or not, I don’t know-” Poe grabbed Finn by the shoulders and pushed his lips against Finn’s.

 

“Thank you. Thank you so much, I don’t deserve you.” Finn tangled his hand in the back of Poe’s curls and smiled against his lips.

 

“Do you like it?” Finn asked, but there was no doubt of the answer.

  
“I love it.” Poe held Finn tightly, not letting go even when Rey and Jess got back from their walk and sneaked past the pair to get into the kitchen.

 

The group (aside from Jess) had evening drinks, followed by various party games including charades and Pictionary. Poe is a very talented man, but not one of his strong points, was drawing, which is probably why he and Jess lost Pictionary against Rey and Finn. Jess had demanded wholeheartedly that they play spin the bottle, Poe reluctantly agreed.

 

Questions got progressively ruder, ranging from ‘Who was your first kiss?’ to ‘Has anyone spanked you?’ This wasn’t really Finn’s kind of game as he wasn’t very sexually experienced, he preferred Pictionary.

 

Finn span the empty bottle of Port and it landed on Jess. “Uhhh...have you ever...uhh…” Finn stammered.

 

“Done it outside?” Rey supplied, taking pity on Finn and answering for him.

 

Jess spun the bottle and it landed on Finn, she grinned mischievously.

 

“So Finn, how many people have you had sex with?” Finn could feel all the blood rush to his face.

 

Poe leaned in. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” But Finn shook his head and readied an answer.

 

“Just the one.”  This took everyone by surprise. “What did you expect? I grew up in a conservative neighbourhood, I didn’t _know_ any gay men, never mind any who would have sex with me.” An awkward silence blanketed the room.

 

“Well, I think that’s for tonight.” Poe took the bottle away, rubbing Finn’s shoulder as he left.

 

By early evening Rey was fast asleep on Jess’ shoulder while she was almost asleep herself while the TV played some old Christmas movie quietly in the background, probably Die Hard.

 

Finn was cleaning up in the kitchen while Poe sat on the sofa, guitar in his arms and plucking at random strings.

 

“Put on the record would ya sweetheart?” Poe called out to Finn, there was a shuffle, a crackle and then the sound of ‘Blowin in the wind’ played from his record player in his bedroom. Poe began to play along.

 

“You remember, Poe?” Jess stirred, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and sitting up.

 

“Yeah.” He mumbled, in deep thought.

 

“Remember what?” Finn asked, wandering into the living room, Poe’s apron around his waist and soapy pink rubber gloved on his hands.

 

“When I was younger, me and Jess went to an anti-war protest. We all sung this together while marching.” Poe trailed off just as the record crackled into a stop.

 

“Why did you go to an anti-war protest? Weren't you in the air-force?” Finn sat down next to Poe, abandoning his washing up in the kitchen.

 

“Some fights are necessary for a better future, that’s what I fought for. What I didn’t fight for is innocent people being marched off to be killed in a war we can’t win.”  Everyone went silent as Poe gripped the guitar tighter, he started playing chords. “How many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him a man?”

 

Jess cleared her throat and began singing with him. “… How many times must the cannonballs fly, before they’re forever banned?” Rey stirred on Jess’ shoulder, waking up to Jess and Poe singing quietly while Poe strummed on the guitar.

 

“How many times can a man turn his head? And pretend that he just doesn’t see?” Rey joined in, Finn felt incredibly guilty that he didn’t know the iconic song lyrics.

 

“ **How many deaths will it take till he knows, that too many people have died? The answer my friend, is blowin in the wind. The answer is blowin… in the wind.** ” The rest of the group went silent as Poe finished off the song, singing without guitar company. Even though his voice was barely a whisper, it boomed throughout the room.

 

They all decided to get some sleep shortly after that. Rey and Jess camped out in his living room while he and Finn took his large double bed.

 

“Finn?” Poe was in bed while Finn was sat on the edge, putting on one of Poe’s sleep shirts. “Was I really your first?” Finn looked down and nodded, shame written all over his expression. Poe crawled over behind him and pulled Finn close.

 

“Why did you tell me you’d done it before, when we woke up together?” Finn shrugged as Poe played with the ends of Finn’s tightly coiled hair.

 

“Thought you might not want to see me again.” He mumbled.

 

Poe began kissing up Finn’s smooth skin. “I wish you had told me, your first time should be special, I would not have gotten as drunk as I was if it was your first.”

 

Finn turned to Poe. “It was special, because it was you.” Poe smiled bashfully, pulling Finn into bed with him.

 

“Poe?” Finn said quietly once he was curled up into Poe’s torso, his legs intertwined with his lovers.

 

“Hm?” Poe responded, sounding close to sleep.

 

“This was much better than Christmas with my family.”

 

“You deserve the world, my love, nothing less.” This was the first time the L word was consciously spoken between them, Finn felt his heart fill with butterflies.

 

“Poe?” Finn said again, quieter this time.

 

“Hm?”

 

“I… I really really like you.” It was so quiet that Poe had to strain his ears to listen.

 

Poe leaned in and softly pressed his lips against Finn's, pulling him in so they were pressed flush against each other.

 

“I really really like you too.” Poe knew what Finn was trying to say, and it was enough for him just to know that Finn loves him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 1963 song “Blowin in the wind” by Bob Dylan was used at many protests throughout history including anti-war protests, civil rights and countless others. Sometimes a song is more than just lyrics, it’s part of history. Do you guys have any good protest stories?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey I just met you,  
> And this is crazy~  
> Here's my fanfic,  
> Review it maybe?
> 
> Ohhhhh secret relationships!   
> Would LOVE to hear you guys responses to this!


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